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Finding Her
Place at Yale
student profile
“This program showed us that
there’s always someone who’s been
there before–and those people are
willing to help.”
—Viviana Andazola Marquez sy ’18
As a high school student in Thornton, Colorado, Viviana Andazola Marquez
worked hard and aimed high, earning grades that gained her admission to
Yale, Harvard, and Princeton. But even after she chose Yale, she worried about
the culture—how would a ﬁrst-generation college student from a family of
limited means ﬁt in at an Ivy League school? To ease those concerns, Viviana
attended Freshman Scholars at Yale (FSY), a summer program that brings
a small cohort of incoming students to campus for a ﬁve-week preview of
residential college and academic life.
“I think everyone at Yale goes through a case of imposter syndrome, and in
FSY they really emphasized that we shouldn’t be confused as to why we’re
here,” Viviana says. Through course work, recreational activities, and personalized instruction—ranging from simple lessons on time management to
complex conversations about personal challenges—the FSY program, which
is welcoming its third group in the summer of 2015, is already known for
inspiring both personal conﬁdence and close friendships.
Viviana, who is sampling courses in chemistry, cognitive science, and history,
is grateful for her tight-knit group of FSY friends, but she’s also found other
companions in her three roommates, her co-writers at Rumpus, and fellow
members of MEChA, a Chicano social-justice group. “I like the sense of
community here,” she says. “There’s not a lot of division among groups.”
And she attributes FSY with helping her both master the basics—like improving her note-taking skills—and giving her the conﬁdence to take advantage
of everything Yale has to o≠er. “It can be hard to tackle academics if you feel
like you don’t belong,” she says. “This program showed us that there’s always
someone who’s been there before—and those people are willing to help.”
A robust ﬁnancial aid program brings exceptional students like Viviana to
Yale, regardless of their ﬁnancial circumstances. To learn more about ways
to support these students, please visit giving.yale.edu or call 800.395.7646.
Yale University PO Box 2038 New Haven ct 06521-2038